I don't know about you, but I feel like money is tight right now in my post-holiday hangover. So, I'm not splurging on anything, including a good bottle of vino. Thus, The Budget Wine Babe blog is the perfect antidote for me these days:

"I have the utmost respect for wine experts and I'll be the first to admit that I am not one of them. For me, wine is meant to be enjoyed much more so than studied (although you'll see that I do attempt to learn as much as possible). Wine is about delicious food, beautiful destinations, fun evenings, and history."

I like her accessible tone, her straight talk, and her lack of geek winespeak--all of which is evident in her posts, like the one about how, contrary to belief, the screw cap is not actually the greatest thing to happen to wine since the Egyptians left grape juice accidentally sitting in an earthenware jar, and why it's important to be a green wino, as she says. Makes me want to go out and buy a Gallo Family Vineyards "Twin Valley" Chardonnay for $5, as recommended by our wine expert this month, Leslie Sbrocco.

How are you doing with your New Year resolutions? Me too. I'm still eating a big bowl of ice cream every night with a Reese's crumbled in for good measure. Apparently, my increase in calorie-intake makes me something of a cliche. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came out with a recent study that concluded that men consume an average of about 170 calories a day more than they did 30 years ago, while women eat about 335 more. One of the biggest reasons is portion sizes have been supersized. Indeed, the not-so Golden Arches (who invented the phrase) have tripled the portion of their French fries since they began serving them in the 1950s. One solution may be to reduce the size of the bowl or plate you're using. A study released from Cornell University demonstrated that those given big bowls and spoons served themselves more ice cream than those who used small bowls and spoons, despite the fact that everyone thought they ate the same amount and felt satisfied. So tonight, I'm going to pull out the little bowls for my ice cream. Maybe I will end up ingesting a few less calories, which over time truly adds up. PS: Check out our article on perfect portion guide for more detailed information.

A friend of mine spent New Year's in Cambodia and reported back that she had never eaten more delicious food in her life. However, there was one local delicacy that she was unable to stomach--fried spiders. Apparently, on the way to Angkor Wat, locals and tourists alike stop for a-ping, as it's known there. Each of the dozen or so roadside vendors sells about 300 crunchy eight-legged wonders every day for just pennies. They are marinated in a spicy-sweet red sauce before being fried, and the bigger they are, the better. These are sold alongside stuffed frogs, and she refused to try those, too. I've tried a tiny bite of kangaroo in Australia and fried grasshopper in Mexico, but am not as culinarily macho as others at Epicurious. What are some of the grossest foods you've encountered, and did you actually try them?

Whenever I want to relax, I turn on the tube and watch one of three things: depressing news, fascinating history shows, or food programs. Besides watching myself on Epicurious TV and getting embarrassed, I check out all the gastroporn shows to watch someone boil down sugar, go claw to claw with an angry lobster, or slurp down something disgusting. Now I can figure out what to watch simply by checking out the TV Food Fan blog. He channel surfs and reports on the television food news of the day, including tasty chef gossip. Now, I can log on to his site first while whipping up some popcorn. And some cookies. And some ice cream. And some...

The Beerbelly should be a must have for anyone heading to the Super Bowl. According to the Automatic Flowers in Toronto blog, a company called Underdevelopment Inc., produces a neoprene hot-water bottlelike contraption that holds beer. It fits around your stomach and is built with a tube for you to suck out the brew. Anyone who purchases a Beerbelly might want to also invest in the Ice Pack Pleasure Extender, which keeps the beer--but not you--ice cold for up to three hours. I can already see Homer wearing this in an upcoming episode. Now, if they could only invent one for coffee, I'd be all set.